To 1/15: 'South Pacific' has laid-back charm at ASU Gammage

by Kerry Lengel - Jan. 11, 2012 03:13 PMThe Republic | azcentral.com

There's a war on in "South Pacific," but mostly you wouldn't know it. The Japanese navy has the upper hand, and the Americans are stuck in the doldrums. There's more than enough time for hijinks on the beach, frolicking with the natives, and falling in, out of and back into love.

A certain leisureliness prevails in this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, which premiered in 1949, when attention spans were so much longer than today. The opening scene makes room for four songs and a reprise, a refreshingly unhurried get-to-know-you period for Navy nurse Nellie Forbush ("A Cockeyed Optimist") and suave Frenchman Emile de Becque (singing the musical's signature ballad, "Some Enchanted Evening").

Based on the Tony Award-winning Lincoln Center revival from 2008, the current national tour resists the temptation to add speed or flash to meet contemporary expectations, focusing instead on character and genuine emotion. The result is a visually appealing, gorgeously sung sojourn with a cast you'd be happy to spend even more time with.

Katie Reid exudes girl-next-door charm as Nellie, the self-proclaimed "hick" from Arkansas, and her singing is impeccable but unassuming, making "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" an irresistible delight. Shane Donovan is convincingly gung-ho as Marine Lt. Joseph Cable (who sings the once-controversial "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught"), and Christian Marriner brings just a pinch of Groucho Marx to Luther Billis, the Seabee-on-the-make who dons a coconut bra in the vaudevillian romp, "Honey Bun."

If there is any complaint to be made, it might be Marcelo Guzzo's thick not-quite-French accent as de Becque. The casting of an Italian opera singer (or, in this case, Italian-Uruguayan) is entirely traditional for "South Pacific," but combined with the smoky depths of his lovely baritone, it makes it a challenge to understand his lines, either spoken or sung.

As for the musical's message of racial tolerance, it can't help but feel a bit dated, especially when it's accompanied by the stereotyped comic relief of Bloody Mary, the Tonkinese (that is, Vietnamese) hawker of grass skirts and shrunken heads. Even so, this revival is performed with such charm and sincerity that it's easy to overlook its occasional quaintness.

Like "Oklahoma!" before it, "South Pacific" represents a watershed moment in musical theater, another turn toward substance over frivolity, and this production pays loving homage to its legacy.